Children are a gift of God. He has given us these children so that we will nurture them according to His plan. We are to teach our children about God. We are also to prepare our children to live in this world. That is a big job. It is the parents' job. No one else has the responsibility to teach our children either about God or about the world in general.
When it comes to the secular learning of our children, we as parents, must take full responsibility. That doesn't mean that we can't delegate the job of teaching to others as we see fit. It does mean that we are ultimately responsible to see that the job is done and done well.
So, what are our options? We can send our children to a public school, we can pay a private school, or we can do it ourselves. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages.
- Public School — Its advantages are it's cheap and convenient. Its disadvantages are it's run by the government, it's becoming less and less effective and the people involved may or may not have the same religious convictions or academic standards you want for your children.
- Private School — Its advantages are it is more likely to be effective since it answers directly to the people who pay its bills (the parents), it is more likely than the public schools to have people involved that have the same religious convictions and academic standards you want for your children (or else you wouldn't be sending them there). Its disadvantages are that it is not cheap and it can be inconvenient (not a neighborhood school).
- Home School — Its advantages are that it is relatively inexpensive, you have total control over the religious convictions and academic standards set for your child, it brings the family closer together. Its disadvantages are it is very time-consuming, can be a great challenge to the teaching parent, and probably will limit your family to one income.
So, what will it be for your family? If you are still reading, you probably are fairly interested in the home schooling option. Let's look at it a little closer to see if it is right for your family. Keep in mind that these are my opinions based on my experiences (15 years) home schooling and talking with other home schoolers. Your family may or may not fit the picture I present to you.
Time — Home schooling your children will require a large time commitment.
- Time to prepare for the school day. Different curricula take different preparation times. With some it's just a matter of doing the next page or two in the book. With others, you must plan something new to do everyday. Think about how much time you have to devote to planning when you choose your curriculum.
- Time spent maintaining the home. Home schooling is messy. The kids are home all day. That means 3 meals a day for all of you. It also means constant little messes around the house. But, the kids are home all day, so you have helpers to keep things in order. Teach your kids to help with the household chores.
- Time actually teaching the children. This can also depend on the curriculum you choose. Keep in mind that it doesn't take near as long to teach one child something as it does to teach 20. Your child will not need to “do school work” as long as the traditional school day lasts. Typically, school can be done in the morning hours. That will leave lots of time for hobbies or other activities.
Money — Home schooling does cost money.
- Curriculum You are responsible for purchasing curriculum when you home school. This can be quite a shock to those coming from the public school, but those coming out of private schools find it much less expensive than what they are used to paying. Curriculum varies greatly in how much it costs. You can buy whole packages from curriculum companies that give you all the bells and whistles. This option is probably the most expensive. You can pick and choose curriculum from a variety of large and small publishers. This gives you more control over what you pay. You can find a lot of curriculum and materials free at the library, internet, book fairs and other home schoolers.
- Extra Curricular Activities Whereas students that go to schools have a variety of extra curricular activities available to them, home schoolers must make the opportunities happen for their children. Things like private music lessons, sports activities, co-op classes, 4-H or scouts are all options that give the home schooler lots of opportunities. Some of them are quite expensive. Some of them require a lot of time commitments and some of them will require you to get involved to make it a success. Here is where parents must really decide what their priorities and boundaries are. Don't feel like you've got to get involved in something just because everyone else is doing it.
- Consider these cost savings There are lots of areas where you may find you are saving money because you are home schooling. The clothing budget is a big one. Your children won't need as many clothes and because they aren't under a lot of peer pressure, you won't feel the need to buy expensive, name brand clothes. You may find that you don't use the car as much as before. In fact, you may find your family can get by with one car. Since you don't have to get out to take and pick up the kids from school everyday, you don't have to leave the house everyday. The food budget may seem to be higher because the kids are home. But, since you are home with them everyday, they aren't having to buy school lunches. You will also find that since you are home everyday, you will have more time to cook healthy meals for the family. If your kids have been in school before, you will most definitely see a decrease in the medical bills. They won't be around all the sickness that is in a school setting. If there is an illness “going around”, you can make a point to keep you and yours away from it.
Lifestyle — Your life will drastically change.
- Family Togetherness Your family will have much more leisure time to spend together. In fact, you will find your family wanting to spend time together. They will be not only eating and sleeping together, but learning, working and playing together.
- Learning Becomes a Family Affair You will, of necessity, be learning a lot. Not only learning about home schooling, but how to teach your kids, how to organize your home, and how to manage it all. You will be learning everything (or almost everything) your kids learn. They will see you being excited about learning and they will want to learn. Their secular as well as spiritual education will be the great family project.
- Peers Your children will have friends. They may be friends they had before home schooling, or friends from church, or friends from outside activities, or neighborhood friends, or new home school friends. But, time spent with these friends can and should be quality time. You will know who their friends are and what they are doing. If bad peer pressure becomes a problem, you can intervene before it gets out of hand.
- Outside influences Other outside influences that may have influenced your children before will be under your loving parental guidance. The TV, video games, movies, radio and other influences will be limited. In fact, many home schoolers don't have TVs in their homes. At our house, we do have the TV, but when it is turned off, it's amazing how much quality activities the kids will find to do.
There is one more thing you need to keep in mind when you decide whether or not to home school. It is very important that both mom and dad are working together here. It's okay if one or both of you are a little unsure of the whole process, but it is not okay for one parent to insist on home schooling if the other refuses to be supportive. It is something that must be decided by the two of you. Take the decision seriously and learn as much as you can about it before you get started. When mom and dad present a united front, the kids are going to not only be more cooperative, but they will love the whole idea.
Notice that I didn't say that mom, dad and the kids need to all be involved in this process. While it doesn't hurt to get your kids input on home schooling, the decision is up to the parents. The kids should not get the idea that their education is their responsibility. God gave the responsibility of training the children to the parents.
